ThumbDV™: Create a Handheld For Under $200

How would you like a handheld device with a 7″ touchscreen that can get you on the D-STAR network for under $200? KG7NKG alerted us that he successfully used a Winbook TW 700 tablet with the ThumbDV™ and we just had to give it a go.

Upon receiving the box today, and going through the basic configuration of the pre-installed MicroSoft Windows 8.1 on the device, a ThumbDV™ was plugged into the standard USB port on the tablet. After allowing for the automatic installation of the FTDI driver, it was time to give this package a try. KG7NKG used G4KLX’s DummyRepeater + ircDDBGateway so we installed DUTCH*Star’s beta Node DV (WinDV) which supports the ThumbDV™. (Both packages work.)

Once the Node DV software was installed, which took less than 5 minutes, it was configured and a connection was made to REF001C using the built-in microphone and speakers. QSOs were a success!!!